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Robert The Bruce Wiki
Robert the Bruce is a true founder of Scottish independence. It is because of his great courage and feats that he was able to gain Scotland's independence, and to become her first king. His greatest accomplishment was being able to turn the tides on the war for independence. While he had an astounding effect on his own era, and Robert the Bruce has a legacy that lives on today. 'Life and Death of Robert the Bruce' Robert the Bruce was born on the 11th of July, 1274. He was born into an aristocratic Scottish family, and was distantly related ' ' to royalty by his father. His family owned land in both Scotland and England, leading to difficult choices that they had to make during the Interregnum in 1290-1292. At first Robert the Bruce and his father supported King Edward I and his way of work. But later on Robert the Bruce changed his loyalty to William Wallace and supported his uprisings against the king. In 1290, when the Scottish Queen died, Robert the Bruces’ grandfather made a claim to the throne along with many other men. At this point it was not his grandfather who got the throne, but another man named John Balliol. In 1298 Robert the Bruce was made a guardian of Scotland along with John Comyn. At this time he was the greatest rival to the throne for Robert the Bruce. In an arraigned meeting with John Comyn, Robert the Bruce got into and argument with him, and ended up stabbing John Comyn to death in a church. After this Robert the Bruce proclaimed his right to the throne, and on March 27th, 1306 he was crowned. Due to his actions, Robert the Bruce was excommunicated by the Pope, and chased out of England by the army of Edward I. When he fled the country from persecution by Edward I, his wife, daughters, and brothers were captured. His wife and daughters were put into prison and eventually publicly humiliated; while three of his brothers were executed. For the next year, Robert the Bruce continued to avoid capture by the English forces pursuing him. Though there were many close encounters with his English pursuers, they were never able to capture him. Robert the Bruce came back into Scotland and started to wage a guerrilla war on the English, and started to reclaim the Scottish castles from the nobles who owned them. After years of this warfare, Robert the Bruce finally was able to gain Scotland her independence from the English and was crowned her king. Then on June 7th, 1329 Robert the Bruce died. But one of his last requests would be that his heart be taken by James Douglas on the crusade he wouldn’t be able to make. His heart was taken as far as Spain by James Douglas, but he was killed in battle so the heart was returned back to Scotland. 'Key Accomplishments and Events' The main thing that Robert the Bruce accomplished in his life was gaining Scotland’s independence from the English. One of the most considerable events that led up to Scotland gaining independence was the victory of the Battle of Bannockburn. This battle took place in 1314, and was during the time after Edward I had died, and his son Edward II had succeeded him to the throne. In the years before the battle, Robert the Bruce had waged a continuous guerrilla war on the English army, and had been systematically recapturing Scottish castles from the English who owned them. thumb|right|300px|This video explains what happened at the battle of Bannockburn, and gives his opinion on the thoughts and feelings of the soldiers. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LKxQ_fJ7lI) Finally Edward II came into Scotland with an army; the number of soldiers for each army varies on the source, of about one-hundred-thousand men to fight Robert the Bruce and his army of about thirty-thousand Scottish soldiers. Before the battle began, Robert the Bruce was encouraging his men with a speech, when an English knight broke the ranks and started to charge towards Robert the Bruce. Seeing the danger just in time, he turned and with a chopping blow of his axe, hit the knight across the head and killed him. The great feat of their ruler sparked fire into the hearts of the Scottish soldiers and they charged into battle with the taste of victory. Even though they were out numbered one to three, the Scottish beat the English army, killing thousands of English soldiers and taking many more captive. This was the victory that Scotland needed against the English. ''' '''Though the war between Scotland and England continued on for years after this battle, it can very well be considered a turning point for the Scottish land at this section of time. Even though this battle showed the strength of Scotland and its independence, Edward II refused to give Scotland its independence from England. Eventually in 1327 the people of England changed who they wanted to receive leadership from and looked toward Edward IIs’ son to be the new ruler of England. But because of the battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce’s position for king was strengthened and he was looked to as a leader by Scottish people. In 1323 Edward II made a peace treaty with the Scottish people that would last thirteen years, however he died before the thirteen years were up. It was now Edward III who saw the independence of Scotland, and in 1328 he made Robert the Bruce its King and set it free of English rule. 'Affect on His Era' The main affect that Robert the Bruce had on his era (1274-1329) was that he gained Scotland its independence. He did not know if he would be able to battle the English army face to face with his Scottish army. One source tells us that Robert the Bruce “''did not believe he was able to meet the English king’s forces in a plain field” (Barrow 267). In spite of his feeling that he could not face the English army, he went into battle anyway. Against overwhelming odds, Robert the Bruce and the Scottish army were able to defeat the English army and gain an important victory for Scotland. Although this was just one victory out of many battles, it can be seen as the victory where the odds turned in favour for the Scottish people. This victory gave the Scottish people hope and unity as one nation and to battle the English. Scotland now battled England constantly and kept winning quite frequently. The Scottish army’s ''continued raids on northern England forced Edward II to sue for peace (30-1 Wilson, Murphy). If he had not had the courage to continue his battle against the English, after they had killed three of his brothers and imprisoned his wife and daughters then things could have turned out quite differently. If these things had gone differently, Scotland could have still been under English rule; and Robert the Bruce might have been captured and killed by Edward II, much as William Wallace had been when captured by Edward I. This would have had an astounding affect on the people of Scotland, because they would now be under direct rule of Edward II who was set on the conquering of Scotland. But because of this victory Scotland was and still is its own independent nation. 'The Legacy of Robert the Bruce' The legacy that Robert the Bruce left after his death was to confirm “Scotland as separate and distinct, not just as a kingdom but as a community, a people and ultimately a nation”(mac-sothis.com). This is a legacy that has been carried down through the years. Scotland was only once more conquered, and this was during the 1600s. After this the Scottish people were once more able to free themselves of foreign rule and become an independent nation again. This is a legacy that still holds true today. Dictionary.com defines a nation as a large body of people, associated with a particular territory that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government perculiarly its own ''(dictionary.com). Current day Scotland still fits this description. Scotland has its own unique culture. And With its unique culture comes extremely unique people. Even though Scotland is still a part of the United Kingdom, the people of Scotland posses an accent that is much different from an Irish or English accent (also parts of the United Kingdom). And people also consider it its own nation, although once more it is a part of the United Kingdom. Lastly, in the definition it says ''conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government perculiarly its own ''(dictionary.com). And Scotland certainly fits this part of the description. They have their own form of government that is only concerned with Scotland and the Scottish citizens. Although Scotland has not had to fight for its independence since the 1600s, people who live there still feel very passionately about their history, culture and independence. That is why the legacy that Robert the Bruce wanted to leave behind has been carried on for hundreds of years in the minds and hearts of Scottish people, and those who fought and died for the independence of Scotland; making it not just a kingdom but as Robert the Bruce said ''“a community, a people and ultimately a nation”(mac-sothis.com) 'Interesting Things that Didn't Fit into Any of the Previous Headings' There are many interesting stories facts about Robert the Bruce that were outside the scope of this project. Several of these are included below. 1. Robert the Bruce and the Story of the Spider: This story may or may not be true. It is about Robert the Bruce getting the courage to once more pick up the fight against England from an unlikely source, a spider. This story is taken directly from www.middle-ages.org.uk/robert-the-bruce.htm. : "After his last defeat he fled from Scotland and took refuge in a wretched hut on an island off the north coast of Ireland. Here he stayed all alone during one winter. It is said that one day, while he was very down-hearted, he saw a spider trying to spin a web between two beams of his hut. The little creature tried to throw a thread from one beam to another, but failed. Not discouraged, it tried four times more without success. "Five times has the spider failed," said Bruce. "That is just the number of times the English have defeated me. If the spider has courage to try again, I also will try to free Scotland!" He watched the spider. It rested for a while as if to gain strength, and then threw its slender thread toward the beam. This time it succeeded. "I thank God!" exclaimed Bruce. "The spider has taught me a lesson. No more will I be discouraged."" 2. This is an interesting series of videos originally aired on the BBC, and now on YouTube about Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king: thumb|right|300px|Part 1/6 videos on Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPxqxc69GRk) thumb|right|300px|Part 2/6 videos on Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeaGxDS1Y4I&feature=related) thumb|right|300px|Part 3/6 videos on Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23utKyC9ikM&feature=related)thumb|right|300px|Part 4/6 videos on Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2r1rcDOc4I&feature=related)thumb|right|300px|Part 5/6 videos on Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK_UAM0h9d0&feature=related)thumb|right|300px|Part 6/6 videos on Robert the Bruce and his rise to becoming king. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLOgndJOE1U&feature=related) 'Works Cited or Consulted' Works Cited Barrow, G. W. S. Robert Bruce: & the Community of the Realm of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1988. Print. "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Robert the Bruce (1274 - 1329)." BBC - Homepage. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . Corporation, Broadcasting. "BBC - History - Scottish History." BBC - Homepage. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . Digital image. Web. . Digital image. Web. . Digital image. Web. . Digital image. Web. . "Nation | Define Nation at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . Now, By. "Robert the Bruce." Heart O' Scotland - Scottish Art, Books, Music, History. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "Robert the Bruce." Middle Ages. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "Scottish History, Robert the Bruce from Laird Mac Sothis Scotlands Kings and Queens." Become a Scottish Laird, Lord or Lady Title with Scottish Laird Mac Sothis. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . Wilson, Neil, and Alan Murphy. Scotland: Lonely Planet. Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, 2006. Print. "YouTube - Battle of Bannockburn, Stirling Videos from Web Wise Business." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "YouTube - Story of King Robert the Bruce 1/6." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "YouTube - Story of King Robert the Bruce 2/6." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "YouTube - Story of King Robert the Bruce 3/6." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "YouTube - Story of King Robert the Bruce 4/6." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "YouTube - Story of King Robert the Bruce 5/6." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. . "YouTube - Story of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland 6/6." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. .